


Aunt May Finds Out

by Kezi0629



Series: The Misadvetures of Peter Parker [1]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Anger, Anxiety, Confused Peter, Family Drama, Other, Secret Identity Fail, Tony is kind of full of himself, Tony is proud of Peter but would never tell him that, worried may
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-02-26 12:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13235424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kezi0629/pseuds/Kezi0629
Summary: What will Peter do now that Aunt May knows his secret? How will they get past this rift between them? It’s up to Tony Stark to pull this family back together.





	1. Confession time

**Author's Note:**

> This is my time posting fan fiction, so I hope you enjoy! (And sorry about the bad tags; I tried.)

“What the fuck!” Aunt May yelled as she walked into her nephew’s room to find him clad in red and blue spandex.

“Aunt May, I can explain!” Peter began to panic. He didn’t actually have an explaination; ‘that’s just something you say when you get caught.’ He mused while his aunt was currently seething on his door way. “I...uh...I,” He stammered

“Well, out with this brilliant explanation!” She demanded. Her foot tapped furiously on the hard wood floor in the hallway. 

Seeing her this way sent shivers down Peter’s spine. It wasn’t often he was able to get her so angry which is why it turned him into such a nervous wreck. His palms were slick with sweat as he toyed with his fingers, looking for an answer to give her. His heart was pounding so hard he could hardly think over the sound of thumping in his head. His gaze fell to the woman’s feet, being the only part of her he could bare to look. 

“Peter, explain,” she repeated, noticing she had lost his attention. 

“I can’t,” he admitted sheepishly. “This is exactly what it looks like.” 

“So, you’re...” May’s voice shook with the realization that her beloved nephew spends his nights putting himself in harms way.

“Yes, I’m Spiderman.” Those were the first words in this conversation he was able to say with conviction. They reminded him of the power he just proved to himself he had.

“No, Spiderman is dead,” May snapped. “It’s not safe for you to be out all night picking fights with criminals.” She turned to walk out. 

“You can’t kill what’s inside of me,” Peter explained calmly. “This happened to me for a reason, and I’ll be damned if I let this go to waste. I could never live with myself if someone got hurt and I could have stopped it.”

He slipped out the window before May had a chance to rebut his statement. He didn’t have anywhere in particular in mind as to where he was going, so he wound up watching the sunset as he sat on the ledge of the Brooklyn bridge. Tears soaked his mask before he even knew he was crying. 

“Are you ok? You appear to be crying.” An artificial voice echoed from inside the suit. 

“I’m fine, Karen,” Peter responded as he slid his fingers up his mask to wipe the tears away. “I just realized I should be rushing to get home before dinner.” 

“You have an incoming call from—Tony Stark,” Karen informed, changing tone when she said the name of the caller. 

“I don’t want to talk to him right now,” Peter attempted to screen the call. 

“All calls from—Tony Stark—are to be answered. Answering call from—Tony Stark.” Karen ignored Peter’s pleas. 

“Hey, kid. How is the suit?” The man asked. 

“Fine,” Peter answered.

“Have you been crying?” Tony pried.

“No!” Peter held back a sniffle. 

“Is this about that girl?” Tony persisted. 

“Yeah, I’m totally heartbroken.” The young hero put very little effort into masking his sarcasm, knowing he would be too caught up in being right to notice. 

After a long conceded tale about his many adventures with the fish in the sea, Tony finally hung up. Free of the painful conversation, he headed back towards queens. 

When he arrived home, he peared through his window to find His aunt had fallen asleep on his bed. He decided it best to curl up on the fire escape outside his window. He leaned into the wall, using it as a pillow, while his body rested on the ledge. He stuck his hands to whe wall and rail to secure himself as he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Running Through The Words I Have To Say To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and May are still kind of on the outs right now, and neither of them quite knows how to deal with the other at this point. May gets a surprise phone call from a certain super mentor that sheds some light on Peter's secret life.

"Peter?" a voice rung from the other side of the window he was stuck to. 

"Aunt May?" he said groggily, trying to focus his vison on the figure speaking to him. 

"Why are you on the fire escape?" she asked, opening the window to drag him inside.

"You were in my bed," he answered, stripping his mask off, now in the safety of his room.

"I was worried when you didn't come home." The woman grabbed at her nephew's face inspecting him for signs of his nightly activities. "I waited up for you, but you never came back." 

"I was back by midnight; you were already fast asleep." Peter took a pair of jeans out of his top draw and matched it with a white T-shirt from the draw below it. 

"Don't ever run off like that again!" she scolded, pulling the boy into her embrace. "I'm picking you up the minute school gets out, understand?"

Peter parted his lips in protest, but decided it best to just nod in agreement till he could find a better solution. It made no sense to use reason with someone who is motivated by fear; he had to find a new tactic. However, he couldn't think about that with a chemistry test in less than an hour. He proceeded to gather fresh clothes for after a much needed shower.

Once enveloped in steam, he let his sore muscles relax. 'Note to self: don't sleep on the fire escape,' he mused to himself as he lathered soap over his stiff neck and shoulders. He let the hot water cleanse him of his worries, allowing his mind to turn off for a few minutes. This reboot let him focus on problems he could solve--like how much oxygen is in 1 liter of water. 

He donned his backpack and sweatshirt and slipped out the door before Aunt May even noticed he was even out of the shower. He headed down his normal path, meeting Ned at his house as he normally would. "Hey, what's up?"

"Chem test," was all Peter had to offer, and Ned had noticed how uncharacteristically quiet he was.

"What's the problem? You rock at chemistry," Ned pried. 

"Aunt May found out, ok!" Peter's voice cracked at the admission. 

"Wait, she found out!" Ned said with supportive surprise. "Just to be clear, she found out about..." 

"Yes," Peter cut his best friend off before he could out him in the middle of the street. 

"What did she say?" Ned asked. 

"She was mad; I was scared. She told me I was done, so I got angry and fled out the window. Then, I listened to Mr. Stark talk for a few hours before I went back and fell asleep on the fire escape." Peter's explanation was rushed and hard to keep up with. 

"Wow," was all Ned could manage.

"So, now I have to find a way to make her understand." Peter sighed in frustration.

"How will you do that?" The question was in his head all night and he still doesn't have an answer.

"I don't know," Peter responded with dread to his best friends good hearted curiosity

*************

"Riiiing! Riiiing! Riiiing!" May feverishly searched for the location of the insufferable noise. 

"Aha!" she exclaimed, having located the source of the noise being Peter's hamper. "Must have left his phone in his pants," she said to herself, digging through the hamper only to find the source of the ringing was no his phone, but--Spiderman's mask.

"Incoming call from--Tony Stark," a voice said loudly, prompting May to drop it.

"All calls from--Tony Stark--must be answered. Answering call from--Tony Stark." The voice went on to put the call through. 

"Hey, Kid. This would be a lot less painless if you just answered the call." Tony jumped right into the conversation not even bothering to wait for Peter to say hello. 

"Why are you calling Peter with this mask thing during school hours!?" May crouched over the fallen mask to yell into it. 

Tony was taken back by the women's voice he was hearing. "Your not the kid."

"No, I'm his Aunt!" she barked still without an answer. 

"I figured, and he has a combined free period right now." Tony's tone shifted from surprise to irritated. "Fuck, he can't stay out of trouble for one fucking day. I assume you found out Pete's little secret."

"Yes, I know. Why do you know?" May inquired. 

"I designed the suit," Tony boasted. 

"You did this to him! He's 15-years-old!" May was furious.

"I just gave him a suit, an excuse, and someone to keep an eye on him; he got those powers and that unbreakable will all on his own," Tony clarified. 

"You made the suit; you can take it back. Right?" May plotted. 

"Tried. He crashed my cargo jet in sweatpants and a ski mask," Tony reminisced not so fondly

"He was in that plane crash. I thought that that crazy falcon guy crashed it." May questioned.

"Who do you think stopped him from stealing millions of dollars worth of dangerous technology and weapons?" Tony made his point.

"How did this happen to him?" May started to sob. 

"He claims he was bitten by a spider on a fieldtrip to a research lab," Tony explained, ignoring the cries on the other end of the line.

"I have to pick him up from school in 20 minutes." She wiped her cheeks, looking at her phone screen.

"Go easy on him. He may attract trouble like a magnet, but given time and practice, I think he could be a better hero than me." Tony hung up the line and left may to compose herself enough to pick up her nephew.


	3. Stale mate

Awkwardness flooded the car the second the door closed on Aunt May's crappy compact car. Peter and May were forced into the tiny space where tension grew so thick you needed a chainsaw to cut through it. The five minute ride turned into an eternity as Peter stared out the window at the passing buildings. Aunt May was avoiding eye contact as well, though less obvious due to her position in the drivers seat. The car ride from hell was interrupted by a faint buzzing in Peter's pocket.

He retrieved the device out of his pant pocket and read the message on the screen.

Mr. Stark: Care to explain why your aunt answered your mask's communicator?  
Peter: ....  
Mr. Stark: Kid, I know you read the message.  
Peter: Well, I didn't mean for her to find out. It just happened, and I don't know how to fix it yet.  
Mr. Stark: I don't think you can fix it.  
Peter: I know things will never be the same, but it has to get better than the way things are now. I can't spend the rest of my life going back and forth between fights and ignoring each other. I miss her and I'm sitting right next to her.  
Mr. Stark: I can't help you there. I don't know her like you do.  
Peter: I know you can't help, but it still feels good to communicate my problems to someone (other than Ned 'cause he is a little to invested).  
Mr. Stark: And I'm not invested?  
Peter: It's a different kind of investment, lol. Ned actually cares about my feelings; you tell me what I need to hear. Ned just told me that everything sucks, and I will figure it out. So, not exactly the most helpful words, but his heart is in the right place  
Mr. Stark: Well, I'm sure you have a heart to heart to get back to. I'll talk to you tomorrow.  
Peter: Thanks for letting me vent. Talk to you then. 

The atmosphere was still unbearable. He wanted to say something, but anytime he opened his mouth the words were yanked back down his throat by the little gremlins know as anxiety. Aunt May wasn't fairing that well either; she was usually partial to ignoring a problem till it went away, but she couldn't ignore this one. However, she was not equipped with confrontation skills leaving her at a loss for words. Peter twiddled his thumbs eyes fixed on the dashboard looking for something--anything--to say to his aunt. He just needed to get the ball rolling and the rest would come naturally.

"How was your day?" He squeaked out sheepishly. 

'Thank God he spoke first,' she thought before getting up the courage to answer. "It was ok. How was your test."

"It was easy," Peter sighed, not knowing where else to take the conversation.

"Let's stop avoiding the subject," May said abruptly.

"Ok. What is it you wanted to discuss specifically?" Peter inquired, cautiously. 

"You've been lying to me for God knows how long, You sneak out and run around the city in spandex, and finally you put yourself in dangerous situations even when I specifically told you to run the other way," Aunt May trailed on with hostility in her tone. 

"It's been a year." Peter commented on the only part of his aunt's rant he could actually explain: when it all started. "I was bitten by a lab spider on a field trip to Oscorp."

"Stark already explained that part," May mentioned.

"He doesn't know why I chose to do what I do other than a vague monologue that I doubt he would understand. Not saying that he's dumb, but his people skills could use some work." Peter stumbled over his explanation. "When I first discovered them I freaked out. I didn't know what was happening to me or why."

"Why didn't you talk to me?" May Questioned. 

"I felt like a freak; I wanted to ignore them," Peter admitted. 

"You're not a freak," May assured him.

"I know that now, but what would you think if you woke up one day and could sleep on the ceiling and stop a bus with your bare hands," Peter argued. "When I found my footing I thought back to something that Uncle Ben had said to me..."

May stiffened at the mention of her late husband. She knew that it his death had hit Peter hard, but things had found their new stride, so she thought it best to leave it alone. She had not expected to be talking about him right now. Ben had an effect on Peter that she had no clue about. A pang of guilt swelled in her stomach at the words she didn't offer Peter when he lost what she now realized was one of the most influential people in his life. 

"He said 'with great power comes great responsibility.' I have the power to do things that not many other people could do and I have the responsibility use that power to help people." Peter finished his explanation. 

"You know what--my--responsibility is?" May asked rhetorically. "My responsibility is to keep you safe. I don't care if all of New York burns to the ground as long as you are ok." 

"I guess were at a stale mate again." Peter couldn't argue with that, but he wasn't about to give up. 

By the time their conversation ended, they had been sitting in the parking spot for a long while. Peter got out of the car and chose to climb the wall in the alley in order to get directly to his bedroom window. He decided it would be less awkward than attempting to follow Aunt May through the door. However, this did not keep May from confronting him in his room.

"Are you hungry?" she asked from the door way. 

"Yeah," he responded.

"Want to go out or order in?" she inquired. 

"Out," Peter responded, shedding his backpack. He figured they were going to have to talk anyway, and if they went out there wouldn't be a scene.

"Thai?" May suggested. 

"Yeah," he said as he followed her out into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things are awkward but civil. We'll see if it stays that way.


	4. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't going so well for Peter, and Tony has some things to say about that.

In the coming weeks, Peter and May continued to dance around each other. Neither one wanted to give in, nor did they want to argue about it. They mostly just ignored each other. Peter would sneak out his window anytime he needed to leave, and May just ignored the fact that he was clearly avoiding her. The only time they interacted was over dinner. Dinner together was one Ben's favorite traditions, and neither of them wanted to give it up over some argument. However, their strong desire to honor his memory did not make the act less awkward. Every evening, like clock work, they would sit down together and eat in uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional question by May on how school was going for Peter. 

Other areas of Peter's life weren't going so great either. Spiderman, especially, took a big hit. He couldn't help feeling guilty every time he donned the signature red and blue of his alter ego. Some nights he would stand at his window, dressed for patrol, trying to bring himself to cross the threshold. Sometimes he can--sometimes he can't. On those nights, he strips off the suit and lays back on his bead staring at the top bunk until morning rolled around. The only food he eats is whatever he can manage to choke down during his nightly dinner with Aunt May. He only keeps this going because he knows the guilt would be greater if he gave up superhero-ing all together, so he stays lodged between a rock and a hard place, hoping this won't end like 127 hours. 

********************

After weeks of dodged calls and ignored missions, Tony had had enough. He linked into Karen's feed and ordered her to do a full body scan of Peter the next time he puts on the suit. 

He was surprised that only a few minutes later Karen had responded with the results. "Here are the results of the scan you ordered, Mr. Stark." 

"Oh, this isn't good." Tony said to no one in particular. 

********************

"Knock, knock, knock," the door was lightly tapped by a visitor to the Parker residence. 

"Hello," May greeted as she opened the door. 

"Mrs. Parker, always a pleasure. Well, except this time. I have come to inquire as to why Peter is in such poor shape." Tony let himself in through the open door.

"What are you talking about?" May was honestly confused. 

"I did a scan from his suit, and his BMI was totally off. Calculating the ideal for the activity he usually does and the average from what it has been in the past he's coming up short--or skinny I should say."

"So, you came to see me 'cause you think he's not exercising enough?" May asked for clarification. 

"If he wasn't exorcising, he would be gaining weight, not losing. He's losing muscle. I'm sure he is ignoring his Spiderman duties and I would guess he isn't eating much either," Tony explained. 

"We eat together every night," May said sternly. 

"I would imagine that is the only time he eats." Tony was insistent on his theory. "I haven't even gotten into the brain chemistry results, mostly because I doubt you would be able to understand them." 

"Ok, so you want me to take him to the doctor?" May asked, unsure of herself. 

"No! I want you to fix whatever it is that is between you two." Tony was on the edge of his patience. "Don't you see he feels guilty? He wants to make you happy, but he can't without sacrificing what he feels is right. It's like a game of tug of war and whichever side wins he's still going to lose." Tony went into a rant with great passion. "You need to give in. It looks like he figured out there is no way out of this, not without loosing something important to him. He is just stubborn enough to go on like this, telling himself he just needs more time to think of a solution where there isn't one." 

"How can I give in? How can I let him run into danger when I have the power to stop him?" May argued. 

"You don't have the power to stop him. I don't even have the power to stop him, but you have weakened him. It's only a matter of time before someone takes that name literally and squashes him beneath their boot." Tony was more like pleading at this point though he would never admit it.

"I just want to keep him safe." May was starting to tear up.

"The world we live in is not a safe place, but he makes it safer," Tony was unrelenting in his attempts to convince her. 

"Please, listen to him." A hoarse voice came from the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks as though things are going to get even more heated next chapter. Could this be the conversation to fix everything or will it just make things worse?


	5. Talk It Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has sort of reached the end of his rope, and someone needs to rectify this situation soon for the sake of everyone involved.

"Please, listen to him." a hoarse voice said from the hall.

"Peter?" May said taken aback by the sudden noise. 

"How long have you been listening kid?" Tony asked. 

****************

Peter crawled in through his window and let his backpack fall to the floor with a quiet "thump". He lied down on his bed in his normal sulking position only to hear voices. 

'Am I going crazy or is someone here?" Peter stepped out of his room to investigate. 

As he walked quietly down the hallway the voices became louder and more recognizable. When he figured out it was Aunt May and Tony stark, he jumped up to the ceiling in order to be sure he wouldn't be seen. He crept along the tiles slowly till he came up to the edge of the hall, just out of their line of sight. He listened in to the tail end of the conversation, enough to figure out they were talking about him. 

He didn't really know what to do; he was surprised to find Tony Stark in his apartment building practically begging her to let him be Spiderman. He decided he needed to let them know he was there. Hiding and listening was not going to solve the problem, but talking might, and with someone else there to mediate there was a possibility things might be worked out. He needed to say something. 

******************

"Long enough." Peter jumped down from the ceiling and landed on his feet. 

May took a long hard look at her nephew for the first time in over a month. Tony was right in saying he lost a lot of weight, He was noticeable thinner and looked rather hollowed out. His skin was paler than normally, making the large dark circles around his newly sunken eyes more noticeable. His hair was longer, shaggy, and left as unkempt waves. The more she looked, the more she wanted to look away. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed this transformation. He was almost unrecognizable. The bright and spirited kid she raised was gone, replaced by this hollow empty shell. She couldn't believe she let this happen to him let alone didn't even bother to notice it was happening. 

"Peter, do you feel ok. You look pale." May walked up to her nephew and place a hand on his forehead to feel for a temperature. 

"I'm ok, Aunt May," Peter said, pushing her hand away. 

"How much have you eaten today? You should eat something." May attempted to walk him into the kitchen, but he wouldn't budge. He was surprisingly strong for someone so frail and sickly looking. 

"I don't need to eat! We need to talk!" Peter barked, letting his temper flare uncharacteristically. 

"Yes, we can talk over food," May calmly assured him. 

Peter relented and let his aunt lead him to the kitchen. May beckoned Tony to follow. 

Once Peter was settled into a stool at the counter, May began heating up some soup she made the night before. "Here, sweetie," she handed him a bowl and a spoon.

"Aunt May, I'm sor..." Peter began his apology only to be cut off by a finger on his lips. 

"Shhh." May walked around the counter and rubbed his arms lovingly. "You told me to listen to Mr. Stark, and this is me doing that. You need to eat and rest; it looks like you've been up for days." She snaked her one of her arms underneath his and around his chest like a backwards hug. the other arm was brushing strands of hair out of his face as she kissed the crown of his head. 

Normally he would have pulled away from this sappy display, but after over a month of barely speaking to each other Peter felt a bit touch starved. His aunt's comforting contact filled him with hope that they could get past this hurdle, and things would somehow fix themselves with time and a little bit of nurturing. For the first time in a while he honestly felt things were going to be ok. This lift of his spirits awoke his dormant appetite, prompting him to attack his food like a starved lion at the Roman Collosseum. 

"Alright, kid. I'm sending Happy to pick you up tomorrow at 10:30am for some training; you look pathetic," Tony teased. 

"I can still throw you across the room with one hand--while your in your suit," Peter rebutted. 

"Do it just for the look; no criminal is going to be intimidated by a limp noodle in a onesie." Tony added onto his original joke.

Peter looked up at his aunt, forgetting for a second she was still there. He eyed her in askance, not willing to rock the boat he just steadied for the time being. 

May smiled and nodded, "training can't hurt." 

"Thanks, Aunt May. Thank you Mr. Stark." Peter eyes each of them respectively. 

"Yeah, yeah. Just be ready with your suit." Tony headed out. 

"You should get some rest, sweetheart." May gathered up her nephew's dishes. 

"Yes, Aunt May." Peter did as he was told walking off to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Happy ending!


End file.
